KARACHI, April 27: Over 800 advertising, marketing and media professionals attended the third Pakistan Advertisers’ Society Awards ceremony on Friday.

According to the executive director of the PAS (the representative body of the leading advertisers in Pakistan), this year’s ceremony introduced three new categories, making it 28 awards in total. VJs Ali Safina and Anoushey Ashraf compered the event.

The award announcements were interspersed with musical performances. The first of these was by Shahid Nazir, who performed One pound fish. Other performances included those by singers and bands such as Zoe Viccaji, whose vocals were complemented by a dance performance by Joshinder Chaggar, and Strings, who crooned Main bhi dekhoonga, and acclaimed folk singer Akhtar Channal Zehri and Komal Rizvi, who sang Dana ba dana.

The awards were presented to the winners by playwright Haseena Moin, composer Arshad Mahmud, actors Samina Peerzada and Aamina Sheikh as well as advertising professionals.

The agency with the highest number of wins this year was Adcom (with its sister concern Green Man’s Ark), which bagged seven awards for a range of products, including Engro Zarkhez, Telenor Mobile Internet, Gourmet and Telenor EasyPaisa Khushaal. The last of them received three awards, including the two instituted this year: Campaign of the Year and Best Original Local Campaign.

Adcom was followed by JWT Pakistan, which won five awards, while Lowe and Rauf and Red Communication Arts both won two awards each. Other award-winning agencies included BE DDB, Creative Chaos, Green Man’s Ark, IAL Saatchi & Saatchi, Manhattan Communications, Manhattan International, Maxus Pakistan, Ogilvy & Mather Pakistan, Shoot at Sight, Spectrum Y&R and Walter Pakistan.

The company with the highest number of awards was Unilever Pakistan, which received six awards.